Liar, Liar, Put Out The Fire
by Quippy
Summary: The Lying Game Saga, my take. And there is an ending...or a new beginning? You decide. Thanks, everyone, for following this story.
1. Chapter 1

Thayer caught sight of Ethan as soon as Emma had gone off to the Ladies' Room. The younger Rybak was nervous, fairly certain that Whitehorse hadn't missed the spectacle. He had hugged the motorcycle enthusiast's ex-girlfriend. Although to be fair, Emma had latched onto him first, of course after he'd admitted that he felt so alone. His father looked like the prime suspect for Derek's murder. Analyzing Ethan's facial expression, Thayer thought it was a good idea to move off. The last time Whitehorse's fist had connected with his jaw, he had seen stars, and not the celestial twinklers. His anger packed a punch. Thayer's jaw had remained swollen for several days.

Ethan strolled over to where Thayer was preparing to leave. "Hey…"

Hesitantly, Thayer held off. "Hey."

Raising his eyebrows, Ethan carefully offered, "Congratulations."

"For what?"

"Your dad getting married," Ethan said, eyeing Thayer as if he were sleepwalking.

Ruefully, Thayer replied, "The police interrupted his wedding when they arrested him for Derek's murder."

"Oh…" Awkward moments were becoming the order of the day, these days. "Sorry I missed that." Then, remembering to whom he was speaking, he apologetically conveyed, "And about your dad." While wondering what he should say next, Ethan realized that Emma was coming out of the Ladies' Room. She locked eyes with him, then whisked them off him. He debated whether he needed to slip away.

Before he could, though, Thayer said, "Look, I know a lot has happened and I'm not sure how it's all going to turn out. But…I'm not about to come between you and Emma." Intent on sounding sincere, he blandished, "Believe me I'm not."

"She's already decided," Ethan commented, sounding bitter.

"She only promised being here for me, not that she loves me. You know how she is, kind and considerate, earnest, practically to a fault. What you and she have is too special to kick to the curb, man. C'mon. I shouldn't be the one needing to remind you."

Sniffing, Ethan rebuffed, "You sound like my brother."

"I have a sister, remember?"

The handsome young men smiled and glanced over at Emma and discerned that she was thinking over whether she was going to join them. Indecision never looked so concrete.

"I'll give you two some space," Thayer obliged.

"Nah, nah. I should go."

"Don't unless you're sure it's what you want, Ethan. Emma's the finest, which I'm sure you know. You've stuck your neck out for her and she knows that. Talk. Let her know what you're feeling before you shuck her off. For what it's worth, I think you two belong together." Thayer had his hands in his pockets, looking as though he'd eaten the entire 'humble pie.'

His smile waking, Ethan nodded. "Okay, then I will."

Emma still looked undecided.

"I'll go and point her in your direction."

Again, Ethan thanked Thayer, wondering if this set-up was the smartest thing to lend himself to. Shrugging, he nodded again and Thayer moseyed over to where Emma stood.

Ethan had never felt so jittery in his life. His mouth cried out for an ice-cold beer, and erratically he thought…_just like Dan_.

Emma and Thayer were talking; she didn't look all that understanding.

Deciding it would be better to lick his wounds in private, Ethan began slipping away.

_The interlude with her was great, the best time I've ever had, while it lasted, but it's over and I need to move on..._

Before Thayer got the chance to call to Ethan, feeling defeated, he became invisible, disappearing amid the people who milled about him.

Looking down upon the scene unfolded before her, Sutton smiled. As she had watched her pawns, a consummate feeling of satisfaction embraced her. As Rebecca her mother had noted, their plan was proceeding flawlessly. Soon, everything that they had ever wanted would be smack in the palms of their grasping hands.

"Sutton, sweetie," Rebecca fawned, "it would be wise for you to keep doing exactly as you have been." With a conspiratorial wink, her mother grinned. No, she had no doubts. She had plans for herself and her daughters.

Knowingly, Sutton nodded, thriving on the same air of confidence she shared with Rebecca. What they had in store for the unsuspecting, whom they manipulated with such ease, would tilt those lives on their axes.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Emma's eyes fell upon Ethan's handsome, rugged face. She wanted to cry, watching him coming her way. Hemorrhaging tears was not what she needed to do right now. Inner strength bolstered her resolve. Her effort to suppress her tears came out as a deep sob. After a sharp intake of breath, she steadied. By the look on his face, she could tell that whatever he had on his mind, it was eating at him. She knew him well enough. His forehead was furrowed and he was squinting while he tried reaching her.

"It's going to be okay…it's going to be okay," she began muttering. She kept strict control on her voice level. She didn't want anyone overhearing her, lest they think there was something wrong with her. Emma resisted the urge to hold her ground, and stay put, let Ethan approach to let him tell her what was on his mind.

A thin auburn-haired girl, wearing it upswept, whom Emma didn't know well, recognized her twin. "Uh, ummm, Sutton, are you all right?" Her knee-length sandalwood colored cocktail dress with an edged filigree bodice made her look older than how she appeared in school. "You're very pale."

Emma balked, but hid her annoyance. "No—I'm fine. Really. I just need a little fresh air." Quitting this scene would work wonders on her mood. As an afterthought, she said, "Thanks…" She made good on her excuse to get out of there as fast as she could, quickly walking away.

Somewhat taken aback, the girl managed to push out an, "Oh." She should have realized, she thought, that Sutton Mercer imagined she was too superior to be friendly. Moreover, she had her tightknit circle of elite bffs. The slighted girl came to grips with her never being one of them.

Emma eluded Ethan; she had never looked back once, despite…

"No, wait—Em—I mean Sutton."

He chastised himself; there was still the pretense to keep up. Perhaps there was more a need now than before. Murder made secrets more intransigent in this instance.

But, it was no use. Emma wasn't hearing, let alone having it. She left Ethan far behind, he looking forlorn at the door of the Ladies' restroom. He couldn't bring himself to go after her any further.

Self-reproach clung to him, its adhesion intense. Did it make sense to plead with a girl who couldn't stand the sight of him? He had driven her to this and she was making it abundantly clear that there was no going back for her, no hope of a reconciliation.

Bitterly, he considered that Emma had Thayer for consolation.

Despite his brother's advice encouraging him to fight for what he wanted, the younger Whitehorse resigned himself. Pursuing Emma wasn't the answer. Especially when she was making what she wanted crystal clear. She had no tolerance for having him near her.

He had lost out on a good thing and if he regretted it for the rest of his life, he would have only himself to blame. He had played right into Sutton's hands and she had sprung the trap. Sutton was a master player, who knew the mechanics of the games she played oh so well.

….

Mads, her face swollen and pasty, turning up on the Mercer's doorstep, so to speak had been a surprise. She had been wet, had sneezed a few times, after the women on hand had reassured her with a group hug. She could stay for as long as she needed to. Her new wicked stepmother, Rebecca, most likely would have no objection. In Mads' own words, "Every time the woman looks at me, she sends chills up and down my spine."

"Where was Thayer staying?" Laurel had raised the question.

"With a friend, a fellow gamer," had been Mads' triumphant response. "There's no way we're living under the same roof with _that woman_. Even if Dad is granted bail, somehow, we're not staying in the same house. I found out Dad hired himself another lawyer. A woman who's been seeing Ethan's brother. Her name's Theresa Lopez."

Sutton (Emma) had nodded, saying that she was surprised the lawyer had agreed to take Alec' case on.

Getting Mads settled and bedded down for the night had occurred nearly an hour ago. Though she had arrived looking bedraggled, she had showered and was given the option of bunking with either Laurel or Sutton (Emma). Mads chose to share the latter's bed.

Before the girls had fallen asleep, Mads confessed that she had drunk way too much at the club. The white lightning had turned her brain to mush. And…she had done something very stupid in that pool, ending up naked with the newcomer, Jordan Lyle. Emma (Sutton) had just let her cry until her eyes were raw and drained of moisture. Mads said she felt better, and Emma, having sounded empathetic, told her that by morning, once she had a good night's sleep, it would be all right. She'd made Mads some elderberry tea, which she'd drunk before retiring, and the overwrought girl was now sleeping soundly.

It was a bit past one a.m. The Mercer home was at peace as long as no one was awake. Emma was; she had just stirred. Thirsty, she thought to head to the kitchen for a cold glass of filtered water. She looked over at Mads, never figuring her for being a bed-hog. The ballet student's arms and legs were everywhere, all over. Too much of the blanket was her property and both pillows were beneath her head. The smile on Mads' face made Emma reflect on what Alec had told her about not trusting Sutton.

Was that truly a news flash? Just when it had begun feeling a little safer trusting Sutton, the 'evil twin' pulled the rug out from under her feet. If she though Emma was ripe for being an idiot, she had better hit the reset button. Her nature was to be all sweetness and light, but rook her and she could be all about bad-ass. Her rat foster brother, Travis, knew that side of her, well. If you weren't tough, you'd never survive foster care.

Yawning, Emma moved off the bed, lost in preoccupation. About to slip her feet into her slippers, she was aware of light tapping on the window of the sliding door. It dredged up a memory she determinedly suppressed. But the slight sound was real, not going away just because she refused to acknowledge it. When she turned her head, she saw the cause of the noise.

In the shimmering moonlight, it being no memory, Ethan was standing on the opposite side of the door. He wore a look she'd seen him wear countless times before. Vacillating, she weighed the pros and cons of acceding to his beckoning for her to come to him. When he smiled, time stood still; she went to him. She refrained from chastising herself for being like putty in his hands. His kissing Sutton made her sad, but his being here made her glad. It being like old times was comforting.

What did he want?

Before she knew, he pressed the palm of his hand into the glass of the door, holding it there, waiting for her to reciprocate. The look in his eyes pleaded with her. Sucking in a gentle breath, Emma raised her hand to the glass to line her palm up with Ethan's.

"Open?" he mouthed.

Hesitating for only a moment, she nodded. _Why_, flashed through her mind. Ignoring the self-inquiry, she obeyed. When she had the door open a crack, Ethan grinned.

"Thanks."

"Why are you here?"

"To tell you again…and again…and again, how sorry I am, Emma." He gazed into her arousing doe eyes, warmed by their sweet, impassioning innocence, as ever. Sutton's eyes were incapable of such greatness, such unassuming tenderness. Each hair shaft of Emma's head was bathed in luster, the glistening intrinsic. "It'll always be you, Emma. Not Sutton, not ever. I messed up, but you're the only right one for me. I don't deserve another chance, but I'm asking for one." He took her hand and held it for what seemed an eternity. Sighing heavily, he then said, "Just think about it… Okay?"

He could tell her about the strength he'd displayed. Sutton's coming to the trailer to break him down, get him to sleep with her had failed. He didn't want her; he wanted Emma.

Emma's hand in his trembled…

Ethan lifted the back of her hand to his lips and fondled it with them.

The trembling of her hand increased significantly.

"Just think about it," he implored.

Emma's eyes brimmed with tears and the goodness of what they'd had, before all of this chaos generated by Sutton, Alec and Rebecca had muddied it, flooded back to her mind.

Her sigh was soft, its import tentative. "Okay...I will."

Squeezing her hand, Ethan released it and disappeared into what was left of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

"It took you long enough..."

Ethan stared at her, feeling her heat singe him. Flames leapt in her eyes. Sutton blew hot and cold at the drop of a hat. Tonight, she was absolutely white-hot. Swaying on his feet, giving her a 'are you for real' look, he stumbled into the cabin she was using as a hideout.

Several feet from the cabin's entrance, Jordan watched from his car, fascinated by what he'd witnessed. He shook his head, certain that Ethan knew what he was doing. He was making his and Emma's breakup official. His whistle low, his little smile crooked, he nosed the car forward, striking out from this neck of the woods.

Back inside the cabin, things were getting interesting, solely from Sutton's perspective. Ethan's presence was proof he and Emma were done, irrevocably split-up. Ethan was here, back where he belonged and here to stay. Or, so she thought...

Sutton tried ringing her arms around Ethan's neck, but it soon was clear that he wasn't going for it.

"What do you think you're doing?" he snapped, unhooking her arms from around himself and backing away reflexively.

"Oh, come on, Ethan," Sutton purred in her usual sultry way, smothering him with calescent looks. It was a warm night and she wasn't making it any cooler. "We both know why you're here. Stop pretending you don't want me as much as I want you."

"I need to lie down," he retorted, sounding neither smug nor in any way suggestive to lead her on. "You've got why I'm here all wrong." Sure, he was tipsy, but far from being fall down drunk. Even if he had been, he didn't want her thinking he was there for what she wanted him there for.

Sutton wasn't buying his befuddled candor; he was wasting his sincerity on her. Coyly, she pretended to be pacified. "Sure...fine." She folded her arms across her chest. The sleeves of her silky night robe hung loosely about her arms. "Uh, mind explaining why you're here?"

Sprawled on one of the Bridgewater sectional sofas, Ethan sighed tiredly. He looked older, having circles under his eyes and a haggard cast on his blemish-free face. "I need a place to crash."

Dan was entertaining his girlfriend lawyer, Theresa, tonight and he had hinted that if Ethan could find another place to spend the night, he should.

"Why's that?" Sutton snidely put to him. Ahead of his answer, she cut in, "Fear of DUI has never stopped you before."

Her barbed jab earned her a sneer. "My motorcycle is back at the trailer, didn't take it to where I was."

"Oh, and where were you?"

Time stretched out before he made reply. Even then, he didn't tell her the exact location of where he had been. "Out."

"Getting plastered."

The smile he tossed her was generous, which was more than she deserved. "Not at first, but then it sort of seemed like a good idea."

"So you'd thought you'd land on my doorstep and I'd take you in."

Making sure he sounded confident, Ethan said, "I'm in, ain't I?"

Sutton gaped at him, mock contempt oozing from her. Treading lightly, she began, "What makes you think I'll let you stay?"

After he winked at her, Ethan began curling up on the couch. He yawned a few times, smacked his lips. He knew he was ticking her off because he was looking this pleased with himself, and she looked hair-trigger ready to erase his smug smile off his face. She had to get it through her head that he had 'un-enlisted' as her boy toy. Just because Emma had dumped him didn't mean that he was running back to the evil twin. His settling for 'sloppy seconds' days were over. And besides, Emma just might take him back. He wasn't giving up without a real fight. That's how much he knew she was the only girl for him.

"'Cause I'm asking…" He rolled over onto his side. "I'm asking nicely. Now let me rest."

"What about Emma?" Sutton asked petulantly.

"What about her?" Ethan rejoined, yawning several more times. The mention of her name did crazy things to his feelings. He hoped that his present state of intoxication inspired having a sublime dream about her.

"I know—"

"You _think_ you know. There's a big difference." He made a growly sound deep in his throat.

"She's with Thayer now." Sutton pranced over to the couch and stood at Ethan's head. "There's no way she's taking you back!" she threw at him defiantly. Too much triumph had saturated her tone.

"Know what? I don't feel like discussing what Emma will or won't do. I need to sleep. So, Sutton, just go to your corner so I can get some."

She bent down, and let her fingers run through his straight, silky hair. "My bed is comfier than this old, lumpy couch."

Her bed was the last place on earth he wanted to be. He'd been there, done that. Going back was not on his itinerary. Ethan quirked an eyebrow for her, dangling his amusement before her fake scowl. He arrested her hand from touching his head further.

His lazy smile made him even more appealing as she stood near him, looking down. Her pout was suitable for framing if one's taste was as unpredictable as Sutton's was, her whims too.

Then Ethan wasn't smiling any more. He gave her a stern expression. "That's your opinion. I'm fine right here where I am. Now, just run along and count sheep, like I plan to." He shooed-shooed her away with his hand. "Nighty-night."

Annoyed, but holding her annoyance in, lest she let him see that she was fuming, Sutton turned on her heel and vanished into the bedroom. There were words she had wanted to say, but tomorrow morning, if he didn't change his one-note 'I only have the hots for Emma' tune, Mr. Whitehorse was in for it.

If he snored, and it was deafening, way in here, he'd get _it_ sooner.

The required dosage of scorn laced with desire was in Sutton's voice when from the bedroom she fired at Ethan, "You know where to find me!"

Grunting, he answered her artless baiting with exaggerated snoring.

She grasped up her pillow with both hands and threw it through her bedroom's open door.


	4. Chapter 4

"He's got me," Emma crowed. The exuberant expression she threw Sutton, who had announced she was leaving, was off the charts. Emma could not have watered it down if she had tried. She was happy and wasn't afraid to show it. She missed Ethan, and despite his indiscretion, Emma was willing to forgive him. His lapse of good judgment he'd displayed with Sutton had never happened as far as she was concerned.

"So it seems. 'Bye, Sis; Ethan." She glanced at the trailer and smiled, as though she had some pretty petty ideas of her own. "Like what you've done with the place."

Then, Sutton shrugged the shoulders she carried so proudly before she strode back to get into her car. She would leave the tutor and her tutee alone. Let Ethan stew in his own juices, laced with guilt. As she drove off, she considered whether she wanted Ethan back as badly as she wanted everyone to think she did. She had no problem with using him until he had served her purpose. She was Sutton, unpredictable and headstrong, committed to no one but herself. When a handsome face attached to a great body happened along, she went with it. It was just the way she was.

_Makes me feel so free_.

Right now, living in the moment, wherein she reveled, Sutton was having some well-deserved fun, messing with people's heads, which was what she did best. Lying was her way of life. After the grueling ordeal, fraught with indignities, she'd had to endure back in Las Vegas, Emma's old impoverished environment, Sutton thought herself entitled.

But, then again, Sutton always thought herself entitled to do whatever the _freak _she pleased. Chuckling to herself as she drove down the dusty road away from Ethan and Dan's trailer, she figured she would go on letting Ethan believe that they had hooked up a few nights ago at the cabin. How perfect it would be if Emma got wind of it.

Would Ethan bare his soul and come clean, Sutton wondered. She glanced up at the sky and her eyes followed a shooting star that had just cut across her path. She smiled.

Ethan sat looking thoughtful while Emma had her nose stuck in his book. The girl was amazing, smarter than half of the teachers in Arroyo High, and much prettier too. She really was better-looking than Sutton; she had a poise that transcended a person being all full of herself. For a long, long moment, he worshipped her with dark, somber eyes. She really was helping him and he could never thank her enough for all of her help. Even if he failed the test, this was worth it, having Emma all to himself again. Just like old times.

He had been about to spill the nugget concerning Sutton and himself having gone all the way this time. He turned his eyes to the trailer where Sutton had wanted to seduce him there. Lamenting, his heart sinking, he wanted to tell Emma, but he kept silent. Where was his 'guts?' Where his tongue, along with his heart, was, belly-flopping. Kissing the evil twin at his father's ranch on the res during their stay there was tame compared to what Sutton said he and she did a couple of nights ago.

Had he really been _that_ drunk? So bombed that he had no memory of getting intimate with Sutton? Maybe it was true...maybe he was the ultimate tool.

No…no. And he was doing the right thing, keeping his mouth shut to give himself a chance. He needed to return to Emma's good graces, the only favor that counted. Mum was the word. If there was even half a chance of their getting back together, he wasn't going to blow it. He needed her back in his life, and with that thought, he worried about Sutton opening her big mouth to dash his chances.

She probably would though, he thought, having seen the glint in her eyes, seeing them together. Most likely Sutton was itching to widen the rift separating Emma and himself.

Absent-mindedly, he reached out to touch her hand. "Did you mean what you said?"

Emma stopped perusing the page she was on, scanning for shortcuts that would help Ethan ace what he was required to know. "Huh?"

"Did you mean it?" Ethan persisted, watching her with peaceful eyes. "About me having you."

Squinting at him, Emma replied, "I'm here, right. You landing back in juvi would be a colossal step back." She gave him a sympathetic look, all the while smiling. "There's no reason for you to as long as you're willing to give this cram session your all."

He regarded her sheepishly as a wistful look replaced the ashamed one on his face. Such sympathetic eyes she possessed. The shame he felt, having betrayed her on two counts, doubled. "Like the way you always give your all to everything. To lost causes like me."

"Ethan! You are not a lost cause. You can do it—you can pass this test with flying colors. I believe in you."

"Yeah?" Speaking from his heart wrung the honesty from himself. "Why should you? I'm not worth it. You think I am, but you know firsthand how I've let you down. I don't deserve your help, Emma. I really appreciate it, but I don't deserve it."

"Ethan…please. Don't say that. You deserve my help…" After she let her voice trail off, her lips quivered. "And…" Sighing deeply, she finished, "And lots more."

Ethan drew her closer to himself, staring into her earnest eyes. She didn't resist. Her growing closeness with Thayer paled in comparison to what she felt for this tight-lipped young man, who wore his bad-boy image like a shield.

"Emma, I'm…I'm sorry I let you down. Seems it's what I do best." He wasn't going to tell her what had happened between Sutton and him, but he challenged himself to come pretty close to the truth. "I never presumed I deserved someone as wonderful as you, but you throw down the gauntlet and dare me to hope I do."

"Ethan, I—"

"I know you're with Thayer now, so—"

"Who said I'm with him now or ever? I never said I was. He was there for me when I thought you chose Sutton over me."

"I never took her back. I don't her. I want y—"

"Thayer and I…we're just friends—"

Ethan, quickly wedged in, "Then I'm sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusions." Unwittingly, he coaxed her into his lap and the book fell to the ground; he made his overture plainly inviting. "Can we start over, Emma?"

She trembled as his warm breath caressed the side of her neck. His hand pressed in against her stomach. Emma closed her eyes, floating on air, the sweet sound of his voice a springboard. She didn't trust what she might sound like if she spoke. Ethan began stroking her arm, tenderly, affectingly.

It was like old times when back then he had promised to always watch out and watch over her…because he loved her.

"Can we?" he gently importuned.

"Ethan…"

Caught in the headlights of Dan's approaching car pulling in, Emma froze.

With a sigh and a frown, Ethan eased her out of his lap and they both stood.

"We'll talk some more later, if that's all right," he suggested.

Nodding, Emma impetuously agreed.


	5. Chapter 5

How could things get this screwed up? She had meant to obey Rebecca, but she hadn't been able to. It had just felt wrong after Kristen's heartfelt confession. Sutton's throat was dry and she felt brittle inside. Her eyes fluttered; sleep just wasn't happening now. She was too psyched. Wide awake eyes flicked over to the glass of her doors. Sirius was outdoing itself in brightness tonight, Canopus, the second brightest star in the southwest sky, wasn't too far behind.

Ethan…how that boy could kiss. Sutton smiled, reliving the one he had planted on her outside of the country club. He had been proud of her. She hadn't taken any cheap shots, had not said anything despicable to besmirch her supportive family. On the contrary, her silver tongue had practically bestowed knighthood on Ted. Sutton had made Kristen her adoptive mother out to be a paladin.

But then, Rebecca had dropped the bombshell into her lap. Sutton let her eyes fall on the black book, supposedly Kristen's journal. Her real mother had made it clear that it was 'must reading.' Sutton leaned off the headboard of her bed, debating with herself. She still hadn't read a word of what was in the journal. Was it a good idea to begin it now?

She had a sneaking suspicion that what was in it might not be considered light reading. Sutton stopped being indecisive, got out of bed and went for the journal. No use putting it off; it was meant to be read. She was just being silly, fearing what it could contain.

True, Rebecca was her true mother, but it wasn't news that the schemer had her own agenda. Which, sounded nice in theory, since she had shared her plans with Sutton, at least up to a point.

How much wasn't she telling, though? Like mother, like daughter, eh?

Making it halfway to it, Sutton froze, her head jerking sharply to the left, when the light tapping at the transparent door arrested her attention. Ethan's stark, robust outline was framed in the pane. He was motioning for her to come to him.

Thinking his request over, she hesitated. Ethan became more insistent. Sutton gave him a look, one of her many favorite standbys, to let him know letting him wait was what she had in mind. He was a hunk, and she found him thoroughly attractive, but that didn't mean she was at his beck and call.

Ethan became more insistent.

Sutton sashayed her way over in her own good time, bedeviling smile tracing her lips. With the door cracked a teeny-tiny bit, she asked, "What brings you here? And don't say your motorcycle."

Ethan stared at her, keeping silent until he felt like answering.

"Ethan," Sutton prompted, softly hissing, "What are you doing?"

"Waiting for you to let me in."

"And why would I do that?"

The teasing her voice harbored irritated him. The defiance in her eyes was no comfort. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself, this twin was her own version of doppelganger. She wasn't Emma, had no intention of being her, nor ever becoming her. "Because I should tell you something. It couldn't wait until school."

"Whatever it is you have to tell me, you can tell me right here. There's no need for you to step inside." Sutton allowed him to leverage the door open a little wider, despite her pretext of wanting to keep him out.

With a shrug, Ethan opened his mouth, preparing to speak what was on his mind. "Uh…I just wanted to—"

Sutton opened the door wide and with a snatch of his arm, hauled him inside. "Okay, you're in my inner sanctum. What is it?"

He regarded her, clenching his jaw. Ethan began pacing a short track back and forth on her carpeted floor. He balled and relaxed his hands several times. He hadn't anticipated a dry, scratchy throat. Whoever did? Blinking, his eyes grew accustomed to the relative darkness in her girly-girl smelling room. "I just wanted to tell you how proud I was—am—of you for what you did today."

"You already did, Ethan… Remember?"

"Yeah, I know I did, but I thought you'd like hearing me tell you again."

Sounding sly, Sutton invited, "Why don't you _show_ me the way you did when you told me…"

Crowding into her, Ethan put his hands to the sides of her face, thumbs brushing her cheeks. Sutton's eyes seemed to taunt him, but he ignored that. Deliberately, he leaned forward and brushed her forehead with his lips. _No, not Emma_, he thought; _but there is this side of Sutton I never thought existed_.

"I'd prefer what you're doing a little lower," she gently murmured.

"Taking my time to savor the moment," Ethan said equally docile, feeding on the buttery softness of her skin. There was a beauty to Sutton that wasn't merely skin deep. It had taken sincerity and belief to have it come to the fore. Eventually, with tender care, his lips found Sutton's as they had several hours earlier.

Kissing Sutton was like gulping effervescent wine, all bubbly and sparkling. Ethan allowed himself to indulge, surrendering himself, not giving it a moment's second thought. He sought comfort, her acceptance too, and Sutton was more than happy to oblige.

Overcoming her reluctance to cool him down, and put off what she had a mind to do, Sutton got a hold of herself. Into Ethan's mouth, she divulged, "There's something I have to…"

"Huh?" His tongue halted its belabored caress of hers. "Wha'?" Whitehorse looked riled, but deferentially, he weakened the tight grip he had on her.

Drawing back from him, Sutton had her hands resting on his broad shoulders and her gaze bored into his eyes that were widened in surprise. "I have to tell you this before we go any further."

"Okay…what?"

Sutton was confession draped in a petal-white robe, her hair disheveled, her face as white as a sheet. She lifted a hand to her forehead, rubbing it. At length, words of owning up tumbled from her. "We didn't sleep together…I lied." Her mea culpa resonated in her spacious room.

"_Lied_?"

"Ethan," Sutton hissed, seeing him storm out of her bedroom, fuming, determined not to look back, though his lips still smoldered from her touch.

She took a shuddering breath that was deep, which filled her lungs. "Honesty's the best policy, they say, but right now...it _sucks_," Sutton groused.


	6. Chapter 6

Sandpipers scurried in zigzag patterns while combing the beach for food. With the onset of each crashing wave, the birds darted. Their rapid movement engaged Emma as she strolled along alone. Thayer thought it wisest to leave her to her thoughts, which had to be troubling. The relevant information pertaining to the now Mrs. R. Rybak was life-altering, needless to overdramtize. The computer whiz had his computer tinkering to keep him occupied while Emma went off to regroup. Since his return to L.A., several programmers were glad that he had gotten back in touch. They were anxious to browse some of his latest ideas.

Taking another calming breath and gazing wistfully at the wispy clouds high in the sky, the more meditative twin thought about what awaited her once she arrived back in Scottsdale. Oh, she was going back, she had to. What choice did she have? There was none since the identity of her real mother—she knew who she was now—was known.

Having this knowledge rocked her to the core. Rebecca—Rebecca nee Sewell, Annie—was her real mother. All this time, the woman had been posing, as if she was some fairy godmother, or something equally beneficent. Emma wrenched her thoughts from the past to the present. Obviously, Rebecca was a cold, calculating, beguiling cat in the guise of a mild-tempered beauty. Why had she resorted to all of the elaborate subterfuge and intrigue all these missing years?

Didn't Rebecca realize that she had two daughters, not just one, whom she had apparently been in touch with all this time. Why had Sutton been selected to bask in the love of a solid family while Emma had been thrown to the wolves?

Heaving another heavy sigh, she involuntarily cringed as she stared down the ocean spray-washed beach. Visions of what might have been danced before her moistening eyes. The breeze dried her tears before they could fall. Her own arms enveloped her body to give herself a tight hug. Why had she been selected to be the foster child, having been shunted from one dicey home, with assortments of perplexing, though sometimes well-meaning people, to the next? A long strand of her hair flopped in her face, having been snagged by the capricious breeze.

She would never forget perverted, manipulative Travis and the numerous times he had tried to rape her. Emma hoped that one day he got the prison cell he so richly deserved. He was scum; no woman would want that.

As she stood seeing several clusters of families enjoying themselves in the early evening sun before it set, Emma took stock. Something she did from time to time when she needed to remind herself of what she did have. It wasn't as though she had no one; she did have Thayer. He was attentive, almost to a fault. He was understanding and lent his instructive insights, kept being reactionary down to a minimum. His voice of reason had a gentle lilt to it, pleasing to her ear. He wasn't a chronic grumbler.

That being true, at the end of the day, she longed to be part of a loving family she could call her own. She wasn't a woman of the world like her two-faced birth mother. Simplicity suited Emma just fine. Being nurtured, pampered occasionally, and accepted for who she was, were things she intrinsically craved. Owing to her problematic background, she most likely always would.

How wonderful that would be…to return to the Mercers, she suddenly thought. They were the family of her dreams. Though she had followed Thayer here to L.A., her heart remained with them still. Emma considered, and felt her heart being tugged in various directions. _Should I stay, or should I go_?

Sutton had said so much, she always did. Too much to be creditable. She didn't really want her coming back, now did she? What, and spoil her cushy, comfy lie-laced life?

Rifted, Emma sighed, her peace of mind was marred. An undefinable feeling of nostalgia came over her, with the pulse of each heartbeat. In fondness, with her eyes glazing over, she regarded her iPhone, a present from Kristen.

It was time to make that call, long overdue. The smile that had threatened not to blossom branded her lips. She wasn't being a traitor if she needed to hear his voice in her ear like old times. She missed him, very much, even before coming here.

Emma had to tell him since she was sure he had no idea.

His number was still on speed dial; she used it. Never gave it another thought if Thayer might be jealous when she told him later. _If_ she told him. Of course she'd tell him. Honesty was her policy and it never got old for her. His phone was ringing… After the fifth ring, Emma despaired. Seeing who it was, maybe he had no intention of answering. Perhaps she had hurt him way too much. He was dealing with her rejection in his own way.

About to end the try, Emma stopped short, exclaiming when hearing the deep, affecting, mind-boggling sultry, voice of Ethan Whitehorse. Despite how she felt about Thayer, Emma went mushy and rejoiced. "Ethan—don't hang up—please."

"I wasn't going to." Following a not so long pause, he asked, "Are you all right?" Good thing she was many miles away. His heart was racing, beating like a drum…loudly. Sutton was any high school boy's wet dream. Emma was the girl who would get asked to be married. Who was kidding whom? He was at the front of the line, still carrying a torch, having it so bad for Emma that he couldn't shake how much he still loved her, wanted to be that boy to ask for her hand.

"Uh huh. Yes. I'm fine." Haphazardly, she raked her hand through her tussled hair. "How's it going? Did you pass your exams?"

"Yeah, thanks to you."

"Ethan, hey. Y'know, I…I didn't have a thing to do with it. It was all you, applying yourself. Working to your potential."

His sigh was noisy, restless sounding, just shy of impatient. "Nah, Emma, you made me see that going back to juvy was stupid."

"And you're not that. Never have been, never will be."

The pause that ensued was neither awkward, nor off-putting.

Emma dove back in. "I have to tell you something. Something you probably won't believe. But, it's true—it's totally true."

"What?" he rejoined, sounding open, sounding exactly like the Ethan she had poured her heart out to before the evil twin's return from Las Vegas.

"As crazy as this is going to sound…Rebecca is…is…" Emma took a generous breath. Rocks with pointy edges were doing somersaults in her belly. In a rush she spilled, "She's my real mother. My birth mother."

At the other end of this call, Ethan reminded himself to breathe as lightheadedness gripped him. "What the— You're serious."

"Completely. Found out on account of the investigation we've been doing."

"You and Thayer…" A note of disapproval had crept into Ethan's voice.

"Yeah." Emma quickly went on, "I'm returning to Scottsdale."

Sprawled out on his bunk in the trailer, Ethan's eyes scoured the cramped confines of his crawlspace. "To confront her."

"Yes to confront her. I want her to tell me why she never told me who she was. I have a right to know."

"Of course you do," Ethan breathed, feeling himself tense up. The prospect of seeing Emma again made him anxious, yet thrilled him. She would never be out of his system; he had accepted that. No matter how many times Sutton devoured his mouth with hers, the story was the same.

Emma was in his blood. She ran deep and true, helping to spin his mind out of control.

"Have you spoken to Sutton about it?" he followed up.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I wanted you to be the first to know."

A firecracker ignited in Ethan's brain and exploded in his heart. She had thought of him first, no one else. He dared to hope that there was more between them than merely a forsaken past. _Oh sweet girl...I love you so...I've got to make you know_... Ethan sat up in his bunk.

"When are you coming?" he wanted to know.

"As soon as Thayer points his car in the right direction."

"He's driving you?"

"If I ask him to, he will."

Rerouting the dialogue train from the track that this conversation was heading, Ethan said, "I've got something to tell you too."

"What?"

The urge rose in him. She needed to know the truth, but not over the phone his gut told him. "Guess who's getting married."

Guardedly she said, "Married?" Despite her reserve, Emma was startled. Were his next words going to be that he and Sutton were the ones? All at once, the sandy level ground she stood upon quaked beneath her feet. It seemed as though the Pacific Ocean was rushing at her headlong. "Who…" she queried, alarmed to hear how shaky and hollow her voice had sounded. She had tried her best to hold dismay at bay.

Her attempt hadn't been wholly successful. What Ethan had heard in her draft of tacit protest bolstered him, giving him the distinct feeling that Emma was worried. Calmly, he soothed, "Dan, and…"

Relief flooded through her and spilled into her voice. "Theresa?"

"Bingo. Wild, huh?"

"Absolutely. Congratulate him for me, okay?"

"You can do it in person once you're here. Hey, I'll look for you when you get back."

Softly, before ending the call Emma told him, "I'll look for you too."


	7. Chapter 7

When he listened hard enough, he could hear the night air soughing in the desert. Forlorn and nostalgic, the sound reminded him of his on-again-off-again loneliness. What was he going to do with these deep-seated feelings he had for Emma? They were driving him nuts, "killing him softly," as the saying went.

He smiled sadly.

"Like Mads said…and repeated more than once. I'm hopelessly hooked on Emma…" As his broken voice trailed off and his eyes widened, likewise so did any hope of winning Emma back dimmed. Her fateful words echoed in his mind.

"…_I'm fully with Thayer now_…"

Ethan repeated what he had told her when she had stood within his arms. "I fully know that." The hard edge in his voice was brittle. He wanted to smash something, anything to vent his anger. He sat down at the rickety well-used eating table. Usually, it had a fine film of whatever on it. Sometimes Dan would wipe it off, sometimes Ethan, when either felt like it.

Promptly, he got up again, heading for the compact fridge. The red second-hand of the retro style clock on the trailer wall seemed to be moving swifter than it should have been. Yet, time felt as though it dragged.

Sighing, he cracked the door of the fridge open, his eyes targeting what he needed right now, what his gut craved, aside from a certain bewitching someone. After opening the bottle, he threw his head back to chug the frothy beer. He couldn't help giving the clock another glance as the liquid 'reviver' slid down his throat.

It was 11:18 p.m., and nothing felt all that well. In fact, it was sucky and galling. Disgusted, Ethan had a good, depressing idea where Emma was. To think where she was made him sick to his stomach. Uh huh…he was having a moment and it was an awful one, thinking about _his_ girl—yes—_his_, in bed with Thayer. Getting from her what he dreamed of having, but was denied.

The heart-to-heart, along with the wine, he had had with Mads at poolside had done little to lighten his mood.

The weight of Emma in his mind numbed him. He couldn't stop telling himself how stupid he was for not acting on his impulses as he'd held her on the dance floor. Restraint had prevented him from kissing her softly, yet possessively. Yes—right in front of everyone. So what? Now, since he had not done it, all he was left with was regret, lamenting what might never be. Emma and he back together, reunited and making plans about their future together, the way they used to.

Marooned and lost, and in one draft, Ethan downed more beer. The brew was cold, a perfect instigator of 'brain freeze.' Clenching his jaw, he waited for the sharp pain in his skull to abate. Once it did, he aimed himself for his nook where he slept, shuffling in its direction, tripping over his feet as he went.

Abruptly, the sound of a car quashing gravel as it pulled up to the trailer halted his volition. Ethan squinted, looking through the smudgy window as bright light from headlights bathed the grounds. A shapely, willowy figure emerged from the car, a cab. The girl paid the driver with a grateful look on her appreciative face.

The cabby backed his vehicle down the rural approach. His departure was swift and crunchy, the light from the headlights fading fast.

Ethan held his breath, watching the trim vision in red loveliness make her way to the weather-beaten trailer. He had been thinking it was Sutton. But, why would she have taken a cab? She owned her own swanky car that she loved to drive, mostly to show it off 'cause she could.

No way this was Sutton…it wasn't.

Unbelievably, and as he thought it, his heart sallied through several frantic beats. This was Emma! She was here—coming up to the door, making ready to knock. There never was, never had been, a bell to ring. Ethan beat her to the punch, opening the door before she could get her hand to it.

She was lovelier, more vivacious, than Sutton could ever be. Best of all, she was here where he needed her to be. He hoped her presence meant a boon and not a bust. They'd had too many of the latter, of late.

Before either could say a word, Emma threw her arms around his neck. Ethan looked as though he needed a hug. This was no time to be stingy with her affection. He returned her generosity, eagerly. His heartbeats were far from regular.

"I was about to make a very, very big mistake," Emma avowed.

She made a mental note how having his body pressed against hers, so unlike Thayer's thin, boyish frame, his narrow hips, was beyond wonderful. This was a man she clung to, Ethan…_her_ Ethan. He had been willing to help her despite her indifference. And how had she been about to repay him? By sleeping with another man. True, who had feelings for her too, but she couldn't help how she felt.

Ethan was made for her, exclusively, and she for him.

With his nose buried in her neck, he modestly replied, "I'm no stranger to those. Right?" He pulled her tighter to himself and Emma embraced him vigorously, merging more solidly with him. There were unmistakable tremors circulating through his body. It matched her own. He didn't hesitate to tell her, "I'm glad you came."

"I couldn't stay away," she confessed. The image of Thayer unclothing himself and her was fresh in her mind. Emma trembled pronouncedly as Ethan held her. Lying with Thayer holding her close, she had realized that she was in the wrong place with the wrong man. He was her friend, not meant to be her lover, not ever.

There was only one man for her and he was holding her close, gently mumbling against her scalp.

His eyes were closed and he was rejoicing because this wasn't a dream, the furthest thing from…

"Is it all right if I stay?"

Ethan nodded against her head. "It's more than all right."

"I want to lay with you, Ethan, but I don't want to have sex. Not yet. Somehow, it doesn't feel right just yet. It will, but not tonight. Please hold me and we can talk until we fall asleep in each other's arms."

"Whatever you want is fine with me. You should know that, but then I have been acting like a jerk."

"Not if I hadn't acted like one first." Tears had formed in her eyes. Realizing for the first time that this man was capable of such irrevocable compassion, Emma twitched. The realization slightly unhinged her.

"Let's call it a draw." Drawing her into the trailer slowly across the threshold, Ethan softly chuckled. He nodded, made sure that his eyes never left hers. When Emma smiled, he did too. They were both silent for a time until he said, "Can I get you anything? A beer? Water? A little OJ, maybe?"

Some refreshment wasn't a bad idea, but she had something else in mind. Ethan wiped away a bit of moisture that had unwittingly slipped from her eye. From low in her throat, she made known, "This…is…what…I…want…"

Emma took his hand to reel him closer to her lips. Tenderly she began running her fingers through his dark, silky hair; its softness entrancing her, along with the way Ethan was looking at her. Like he wanted to devour her, but wanted to give her all the time that she needed before he made a move. She whispered everything about him that she loved inches from his mouth.

Ethan told her the same things, what he loved about her while skimming his fingers over her cheek. He leaned in, intent on kissing her. Emma met him halfway. When their lips finally touched, their kiss was deep, but chaste in its own novel way, while lasting what felt an eternity.

Breathless, with her eyes quite moist, her brain behaving as though it were on methamphetamine, Emma whispered, "So good..."

"Em..."

Their lips crashed together, more furiously this time. Emma repeated Ethan's name several breathless times. His fingertips traced fiery patterns along her sides and on her back, with the length and depth of her sighs increasing. Urgently, she breathed into his chest, "I love you, Ethan."

Carrying her into his room he reiterated, "I love you too. Always will."


	8. Chapter 8

Subdued and beginning to tremble, Emma wrapped her arms around herself. Ethan's kiss was still a searing memory. He wasn't over her, just as she was tenaciously not over him. Why? What accounted for such bullheaded firmness, not wanting to let him go?

It wasn't as if it were some deep, dark unfathomable mystery, not as obvious as she wanted to admit. Ethan was the guy. He was her guy, the one she wanted. The more she came to terms with that, the more she realized that sleeping with Thayer had been impulsive, childish and just plain inappropriate.

Why else had she felt as guilty as sin the next morning? Yes, Thayer was sweet, but he didn't inspire butterflies in the pit of her stomach, nor an utter sense of urgent longing within her.

It was love…in its most lucid form, pointless to deny, silly to, actually.

She edged forward, over to the window of the bedroom, wondering if Ethan was still out there. He could be lurking, she supposed, maybe waiting for her to invite him back inside. Her heart leapt at the notion. Emma's emotions swamped her, being all over the map. Her eyes searched the shaded patio. She didn't see him, and disappointment tinged her feelings.

Tapping the glass, in fascination she thought…_You royally screwed up…but still he wants you_….

Probing the darkness of the night, Emma sighed, wishing that Ethan hadn't gone. He'd left her hanging after kissing her with everything he had. It had been minutes ago, and she still was breathless.

"He never gave up on me," she whispered against the warm glass pane. "I should have had more faith in him," she murmured, her eyes glazing over like ice over glass. She wiped away a few tears and turned away from the window she had opened.

Sutton's words echoed in her mind, "Make sure of what you really want, Emma. Don't make the same mistakes I have…"

Sutton's past appeared to be riddled with them, a history littered with broken hearts and feelings chewed up and spat out. But what about her? She was far from being blunder-free. True, she was a model student, a skillful, competitive athlete, but even so, lacking good judgment plagued her just as it did everyone else.

She felt less than a wide-eyed innocent now. She had slept with someone just to say she had. To prove what? That she was capable of being just as headstrong, just as callous as her sister? Did breaking hearts run in their family? Emma tiptoed around that answer, promptly dismissing what she didn't want to acknowledge, at least no consciously.

It had hurt when Ethan had accused her of being no different from Sutton. The reason he had said that was clear. He'd been hurt, Emma was the cause. Despite the pain she had inflicted on him, he still wanted her back. What did that say about him? Her, and the juvenile fantasies she cherished? She wanted to be a part of the Mercer family, but at what cost? Thinking that made her head spin. She had one of those special moments, those times of precise insight when arriving at the crossroads was as easy as taking another breath.

She came to a decision, a crucial one, one a long time in coming. She wanted to be back with Ethan again. She knew that as surely as she knew the sad truth about Rebecca. Their birth mother was a conniving Jezebel. Emma rankled, bristling. The current Mrs. Rybak was playing everyone and the sneaky siren had to be stopped.

The warm stream of water from the shower brought so much back into clear focus. Emma closed her eyes as the soothing water ran off her body. Physically, she felt so tired. It was difficult trying to do things without a support system. With Ethan's much-needed help, the best support system she had ever known, they would show Rebecca up for the trouble-making evil sorceress she truly was. Once they exposed her, Emma hoped that Kristen and Ted's marriage could be salvaged. It had to be. How could their getting a divorce, leaving Laurel distraught and morose, be a good thing?

Perhaps there was a chance that she and Sutton could be on better terms...just maybe.

There just had to be a way to get things back on track. Maybe things couldn't be exactly the same, the way they had been before she had stepped into Sutton's glamorous shoes, masquerading as the so-called evil twin. But, with just the right bit of leverage, maybe the predicaments that had been caused by years of lying could be changed for the better.

Emma was resolute for believing that Sutton's infamous days of double-dealing and lies were behind her. Already, she had noticed a subtle difference in her. Sutton seemed to be mellowing. Emma hoped it just wasn't some fanciful illusion, prone to burst like a bubble.

For all their sakes, Emma was bound and determined to do whatever it took to end all this senseless and hurtful intrigue before someone else died. As she toweled off, she thanked an invisible Ethan for his understanding. Most of all, she praised him for his unflagging love, for which she was truly grateful.

Did she really deserve him and the outspoken love he promised?

Tucking herself beneath the plush blanket of Sutton's, and, yes, her bed too, Emma closed her eyes and breathed, "Yes."


	9. Chapter 9

Ted lunged at Emma. Startled, she flinched away from him. He looked dazed, on the verge of being angry, but not quite there yet. His bewilderment fomented, driving him to desperation. His eyes were fastened on the keycard she held. He made another frantic grab for it. "Sutton! Give that to me!"

Emma freaked over how crazed her father looked. Yes, Ted was her dad; he had caused her birth. Now he caused her pain. His not knowing that he was her father made Emma feel sad just then. Both of them had been cheated, victims of carless circumstance. "How could you! How could you!" Emma could not stop howling into the cemetery's chilly night air. "Why, why?"

The gravestones stood as silent witnesses as distraught daughter and a disoriented father, who felt adrift, went at each other.

"Sutton, calm down," Ted railed. The tension in his voice was unnerving. Emma's eyes widened in foreboding. Incongruous images loomed before him, disparate shapes coupled with misshapen forms besieged him. Not sounding like himself, which was normally so calm, he threatened, "If you won't give it to me, I'm going to take it!"

Fearful, Emma kept backing away. One of her feet connected with a large twisted branch and she stumbled, tripping herself up, nearly falling. Ted seized upon her unexpected staggering to move in for taking the plastic smart card away. Regaining her footing, Emma steadied herself and stood her ground. "I want answers," she snapped, carving him with dagger looks. "But first, I'm going to give you one."

"Such as?" Ted bullied. He never liked Sutton and now he dropped all pretense.

"You think I'm Sutton," Emma chafed, shivering with emotions about to boil over.

"What else," Ted countered, "should I think?" It was as though he had grown taller so he could tower over Emma menacingly.

"That's where you're wrong. I'm no more Sutton than you are!"

That bit of news shouted at him stopped Ted in his tracks. "What are you talking about?" Sounding derisive, he heckled, "No more Sutton than I am? How long has it been since you took a good, long look in the mirror, _Sutton_?"

"Just this morning. And that last time I checked, I _wasn't_ her. I AM EMMA. Emma Becker. I've been living under your roof, pretending to be Sutton while she went off looking for our birth mother…"

Ted looked as though he would have a coronary any moment now.

"Sutton found me on-line. Wanted me to come here to live with _you_, _Kristin_ and _Laurel_, while she did some investigating." Emma noted the sharp pallor of Ted's skin. He looked spectral, given their present setting. "Remember how you thought I, well at the time, Sutton, was different? She was, because she wasn't herself. I was her."

"Sutt—I mean…Emma?"

Nodding, she continued, "Hi, _Dad_. You don't look happy to see me."

What he was, was mortified and profoundly stunned, with a million different emotions coursing through his face. Ted couldn't find words to express his chagrin. The woman who had borne him these girls, the woman he told himself he could never have, hadn't prepared him for this, the unthinkable happening. Here he was face-to-face with the child who had been taken away, and he had nothing to say that would undo all the harm the forced separation had caused. He knew that it had; he saw the turmoil, the sting of rejection in Emma's glassy-looking eyes.

"Em…Emma… All this time…" He heaved a prodigious sigh, one that reached clear to his toes to draw up what little courage he had. Lacking a spine didn't suit him, yet, lately, it seemed he fit that description to a tee. "It…was…_you_."

"Yes. It wasn't easy. I was sure all of you knew the truth. But, I tried to do what Sutton wanted. I needed to know who our birth mother is every bit as much as she was driven to find out."

"And, now that the two of you know…" The desire to snatch the keycard out of Emma's hands eluded him. He remained silent for a long while until Emma broke the silence.

"The more we've learned, the more I don't understand."

"For instance…"

"Why did Rebecca give us up?"

Ted visibly shrank from giving Emma the answer she deserved. Instead, he couched, "You'll have to ask her."

"Why? Don't you know?" Emma propelled at him with such clout, Ted wheeled back. Looking from side-to-side with shifty eyes, he was moments away from streaking to his car and driving as far away from these extenuating developments as possible.

Cowering, he confessed, "It would be better coming from her." All thoughts of retrieving the keycard forgotten, Ted began moving off.

Heavily, a consumed Emma admitted, "All I've ever wanted was to have family. A real family, one where I feel protected, loved." Ted, after putting up his hands, slunk back. "Wait!" Emma cried. "You can't leave—there's so much that's still a mystery. Did you kill Derek? Where's Theresa? Have you hurt her?"

Ted threw Emma a shocked look, then one of resignation. "I can't answer any of those questions. I'm not the bad guy here." Abruptly, he shouted, "I've got to go!"

"No—wait!" Emma called after him, watching him run to his car and speed off. Her throat had begun to hurt from unshed tears. About to walk back to Derek's grave where the bunch of wilted flowers lay, Emma started when she spied a form's silhouette jerk like a puppet behind a nearby tree. Alarmed, realizing that Derek's real killer might be lurking, waiting to claim another victim, she called out, "Who's there?" Her voice still shaking, she called again, "I know you're there so you might as well come out!"

Obediently, the ominous dark form moved into better light and gave the agitated young woman a sheepish grin. "Okay, I'm out."

"Ethan!" Emma brayed, "What on earth are you doing here?"

"The same thing you're doing here. The same thing my brother and Theresa were doing here a few nights ago, before she went missing." Whitehorse stepped closer to Emma and took her hand. "Trying to catch a glimpse of Derek's killer."

"I might have," Emma professed, looking Ethan squarely in his dark, affecting eyes. She told her heart to stop beating so savagely, the way it couldn't stop no matter how many times she told it to. "He just left."

"And you're still alive."

"Yes. Thank God."

"Who was it?"

"Ted…"

"Your—"

"Yes…my _father_."

Without another word, Ethan gripped her hand harder and held on tight. Emma pulled him closer.

"You know how foolish this was. Coming here all alone," Ethan scolded. "You might be dead right now."

"But I'm not," Emma rebuffed. "I'm alive, and well, and more confused than ever."

"Par for the course." Ethan gently guided her over to her car. "Promise me you'll take yourself straight home." He kissed her forehead. "Promise."

"Any word from Theresa?"

"No," Ethan said flatly, worry crowded tightly in his eyes. "Dan said he's gonna kill whoever has her."

"Oh, Ethan..."

"Yeah..."


	10. Chapter 10

It was getting late and Sutton judged she should be getting back to the cabin. Seeing Ethan here at the Mercer home was a surprise, but not a total one. Kristen had a soft spot for the hunky, allegiant Navajo. Emma too, quite apparently. The couch was there, occupying space. Why shouldn't it be his bed while Dan wanted him out of the trailer? His brother would come around once Theresa was back, safe and sound.

In the meantime, the couch was at his disposal. And, it didn't hurt to have a man around the house, just in case the killer, still on the loose, came calling at the Mercer's. Even though all indications pointed to Rebecca, it wasn't a slam dunk that she had murdered Derek and might have something to do with Theresa's disappearance. If she had committed murder and was responsible for Theresa's disappearance, she wasn't behind bars...yet.

Dan had all the earmarks of a man on the brink of mental instability. He couldn't be blamed for it; the love of his life was missing, going on three days now. No word from her since she had vanished. He wasn't eating, nor sleeping. He had taken to monitoring police scans practically day and night. No lead was a waste of time.

"Time I got a move on and flew the coop." Sutton rose from her bed, ambling over to the sliding glass door. She tossed her permed hair over her left shoulder. Instinctually, she turned on a heel, her nose stuck up in the air, a curl to her lips. With eyebrows up, and her eyes sparkling like diamonds, brilliant, with a life of their own, she studied her twin's bemused face. "So whose idea was it? Letting Ethan stay? Yours, or Kristen's?"

Emma, still up in the air about having Ethan on the premises, mopped her face with the palm-side of her hand. "A combination. He needed someplace to stay since Dan threw him out."

"And you just couldn't resist those big, brown puppy dog eyes of his." Sutton's grin was at its implicative best. "Begging you to give him shelter."

"Why are you being so catty?"

Sutton made a kissy face while Emma thought about her ex-love, having caught him in all his bare-chested glory. She felt a bit lightheaded then. Ethan was a gorgeous boy, but his attractiveness went further than being merely skin-deep.

"Admit it. You still love Ethan. You're head-over-heels. Case closed, no matter how much you say you're with Thayer."

The look on Emma's face confirmed her true feelings. She couldn't help the blush on her cheeks, the wistful aspect of her eyes. Ethan was the love of her dreams, the man she had given her heart to, unreservedly. "I…"

"It's okay, Emma. Don't sweat it. Ethan and I are history. He's yours. Like I said, don't make the same mistake I did." Sutton was thinking about the shabby way she had treated Thayer.

Emma was loath to trust her ears. Sutton, conceding, willing to admit defeat? She, willing to surrender all claims to Ethan? It didn't seem plausible.

"Night. Have a good day at school tomorrow. I'll keep holing up in the cabin. See if I can worm more information out of Rebecca."

With concern in her voice, Emma asked, "How safe is it for you doing that out there? All alone in the woods."

"No worries," Sutton breezed at her. "Someone's keeping a close eye on me. I'll be fine."

"Who?" Emma demanded.

Sutton fluttered her fingers at her twin. "Night…" She slipped through the open space of the door and melted into what remained of the night.

Emma hated it when her sister could be stubbornly close-mouthed, and acted as though she held all the cards. It was true to a large extent. She may not have started this whole web of intrigue, but she was a key player. Debating with herself, Emma considered that she could go for a spot more tea. And then she recalled Ethan's wanting to tell her something. His practically barging in had her curious. What was so important that he felt he had to storm this bedroom in the dead of night?

While she sat upon the bed, pondering what was obscure, light tapping on the closed bedroom door broke her out of her reverie.

A hushed voice intervened, "Emma…is Sutton gone? If she is...uh, hmmm...you think…maybe I could speak with you now? Only for a moment. All right?"

The beat of her heart picked up, hearing Ethan's murmured request. Upon opening the door, she noted that he'd come bearing what she had on her mind…another cup of tea.

"This time I won't burn you," he promised.

Accepting the warm cup, Emma favored him with an indulgent smile. "I had a hand in doing that to myself the first time." She canted her head at him, indicating that he should come inside the bedroom, no two ways about it.

"Thanks," he whispered. He hesitated though, preferring to wait until she led the way.

Feeling him close on her back, Emma trembled. Once Ethan was facing her, she returned the interjection with her sincere smile. That was Emma, always meaning what she said with the emphasis on _always_. It was one of many things that Ethan loved her for.

"No, Ethan, thank you." The lump that had formed in her throat took a while to swallow before she dared speak. "…Uh, what did you want to say before? You know…and then couldn't, since Sutton was here out of the blue." Emma looked all shades of being sympathetic.

He looked at her as if she had just handed him a cool glass of lemonade after a hard day toiling in the incendiary Arizona sun. His eyes widened as they shone, he appreciative that she was giving him a chance to tell her what burned within his heart. He felt his eyes tickle with the sudden well up of tears he couldn't suppress. "You'd'av been…" Letting his voice trail off, Ethan pulled himself together.

"I'd'ave been what?" Emma placidly nudged.

"Proud of me." Self-consciously, he swiped at the bit of moisture leaking from the corner of his right eye.

Thinking that over as she set aside her tea, she grasped Ethan's hand and impulsively drew him closer to herself. He liked the idea of her towing him, asserting herself, making it clear that she wanted him, just like old times. "You give me lots of reason to be proud of you, Ethan." In no way shy, Emma interweaved her fingers with his. "I'm the one who let you down."

Sounding sassy then, Ethan murmured, "You couldn't let me down even if you chucked every stone or rock you could get your hands on and pelted my motorcycle (more like his brother that had pistons and cylinders instead of a heart and a brain), till it looked unrecognizable."

Emma swatted air at him. He was so full of jive. "Oh, come on. You'd kill me—and you know it!" Tenderly, her hand cupped his bronze cheek.

"Maybe," Ethan jibed, laughing. "But like this—for sure…" He latched onto the sides of her upper body and reeled her in, his intent as clear as crystal. He meant to kiss her until she gasped for breath, which he amorously did, and Emma, gasping for air, once she got enough of it, zealously returned the favor. The broken-off couple couldn't get enough of the other's savory taste, hands explored along with tongues.

"Ethan—"

He didn't let her say another word. Kissing her breathless was his new favorite sport and getting even better at it was a cinch. "Take me back, Emma…please. My life is in your hands…"

Wordlessly, she smothered his mouth with more of her feverish kisses.

TBC…


	11. Chapter 11

"Yes, Sutton, I forgive you." There was so much she had lied to him about, so much intrigue and plain, old heartache she'd put him through. Yet, a good place to begin on the road to putting the past behind himself was to grant the devious glam twin clemency. Doing so was more for him than for her. It was time he wiped the slate clean.

Sutton held him tighter. How she had missed holding him like this, yes, exactly like this. He was strong, loving and real. No more make-believe and pretending that she'd been okay with Emma's dalliance with _her_ boyfriend. Ethan belonged right where he was now, in her arms, giving her the affection she deserved.

A moment longer and he disentangled from those arms which clung to him as if they were self-adhesive. Pulling out of the hug and face-to-face with Sutton now, Ethan told her, "And Emma too. What a moron I am. Blaming her for everything bad that's happened to my family." He smacked his head with his open palm. "I chose to go along. All the decisions have been mine. Nobody held a gun to my head."

Sutton stood, quietly taking him and his honesty in. He was building up to something, she could tell. When he was, his nostrils widened and his parted lips would quiver ever so gently. Why hadn't he kissed her, she fell to wondering as she noticed he was edging away. She pursed her lips.

"And where are you going?"

"To Emma."

Sutton repeated what he'd said, then added, "Why?" She stamped her left foot.

Able to cock his right eyebrow, since not everyone comprising the human population had the ability, Ethan slowed his exodus. He had to admit that when she was baffled, she made no bones about hiding her confusion. "I owe her…an explanation." He also owed her a lot more, his love, for starters.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I acted like an ass and I've got to tell her that she deserves better than a loony bin like me. I pray she takes me back."

"Ethan, you're not making any sense." Something that remained inexplicable to her made Sutton lunge for the beau she couldn't bear the thought of losing. She had come to terms with Emma's unintentional winning of his heart. Emma and she had kissed and made up. Leaving all that misunderstanding and miscommunication behind, Sutton loved Ethan. Giving him up was not happening, not if she could help it. She wanted to help what they had had, then had lost, then may have found again, all she could. "You don't even have any idea where she is. Emma said that she'd go into hiding until the time Kristin wants her. _If_ she wants her."

"My money's on Kristin wanting her, welcoming her into her life with open arms. Rebecca's your birth mother, sure. But, I saw it in Emma's eyes. The love and the way she despises her too for everything she's done. Including being Theresa's murderer." Raising both hands with palms out towards Sutton to hold her at bay, Ethan retorted, "I have a pretty good idea where she'd go. I'm guessing so do you."

"Where?" Sutton prevailed, not taking the bait. Secretly she hoped he was wrong about knowing her whereabouts. His flying to Emma, what did that say about _their_ relationship? Sutton and Ethan's? Clearly, it spoke volumes; theirs was over, for good.

"You'll find out if you come. Although, I'm guessing you know as well as I do where Emma is." Turning his back on her, Ethan advanced, heading for his motorcycle.

"No. I don't want to." Stubbornly, she stayed where she was. With arms folded across her chest, she glared at him. "I don't enjoy seeing you crawl. I'll never understand. I don't see why you think it's your responsibility having to explain everything to Emma. Everything and anything. She's the one who dumped you for Thayer."

"Like I don't know that?"

"You're acting like it. You act like you're obsessed with her. Are you, Ethan? Are you obsessed with Emma? She hurts you over and over, like it doesn't matter. And still you go running back to her." Sutton was the pretty picture of being caught on the piercing horns of a dilemma.

While fitting his head into his helmet, Ethan gave no indication that Emma's messing up made any difference. The last time they had talked, her coming to him, pouring her heart out, swearing she loved him, begging that they reconcile, what had he done? He had thrown in her face that _his_ family came first. He'd made the mistake of siding with outsiders, taking their side, and it had cost his brother the love of his life. He would never make that same mistake again. But, now…he saw that it wasn't a matter of taking sides. Routinely, sides had a way of shifting. Rather, it was a matter of what his heart wanted most…Emma. He wanted her in his family…

As she had told him it was _always_ going to be him for her. Did she still want him after what he'd said? Could she just forget about the callous way he had treated her? He'd heard how hard she had cried as he'd left. Maybe he had hurt her so thoroughly, she would never want him now.

"Ethan—are you listening to me?"

"Yes, every word." He started up his bike. "You coming?"

Sutton began backing away. "No, Ethan. You go. I've had enough of Little Miss Perfection for one day."

"Suit yourself." He revved the bike and took off, leaving Sutton to gnaw on her inner cheek.

The contrite look on her face, with hurt overtones, followed Ethan as far as her eye could see until he and the bike were swallowed up by the night's comprehensive shroud.

….

When Ethan arrived at the cabin it was a little past eleven o'clock. Getting off his motorcycle and sticking his helmet on one of the handles, he paced to the front door of the woodland hideaway. He knocked, and while he waited for the door to be answered, he inhaled deeply. The air here was cool and rife with the aroma of piney sandalwood. Maybe, instead of going to his brother's ranch this summer, he might head for Big Bear. It was far, but a change of scenery wouldn't hurt, not after all the fallout from the drama whirlwind. He knocked a second time. Was Emma here? In the shower, maybe? Where else would she go? The Mercer's was out, the Rybak's? Never in a million years could she go there. Mads and she were way on the outs. Thayer was the odd man out. Alec would never allow Emma being in his home.

Impatiently, Ethan banged on the door a third time, non-stop.

"Emma—Emma—Emma?" He tried the door, which was locked. Sighing in frustration, Ethan was about to step away from the door. Sound and rustling movement arrested his attention. Peering into the wooded inkiness, he called, "Who's there?" He listened until the sound of a familiar voice caught in his ears.

"E…Ethan? Ethan, i-is that y-you?"

"Emma! Yeah. Why the hell are you hiding?"

Standing up, since she had been crouching in some Barberry shrubbery, Emma showed herself. He noticed an apple-red bruise across her cheek. Relieved that it was really Ethan, she threw herself into his arms. Uncontrollable trembling racked her body. "Oh, Ethan, Ethan. I'm—I'm so glad you're here." She clung to him for dear life. Fear had robbed her of coherent speech.

Pouring every breath into soothing her, he assuaged, "Easy, baby, easy. It's all right. It's all right. I'm here. Nothing's going to hurt you."

"H-he tried to though—he tried to kill me. I escaped!" She fought with herself, trying to slow down her gulping for air. "Out the back way. I ran into the woods so he wouldn't find me!"

"WHO?"

Emma buried her face in Ethan's broad, well-defined left pectoral. Momentarily, her trembling stopped. It was easier said than done divulging the identity of her would-be killer. Then she froze, going absolutely motionless.

"Emma, please. Tell me WHO—"

"Thayer," she convulsed, expelling herself from her self-imposed catatonia.

"Thayer! He tried to kill you?"

Emma nodded frantically, as though she might never stop.

Gutturally, the vow seemingly emanating from the depths of his core, Ethan vowed—"I'm gonna kill him!"

"No, Ethan—no!"

"Which way did he take off?"

"I don't know. I didn't see. I ran until I thought I was safe. I hid, inching my way back to the cabin, listening for him. I assumed he left, but I was too scared to go back inside."

Reassuringly, Ethan said, "You did the right thing. C'mon. I'm taking you to Dan."

"But, but, you said he wants nothing to do with me or my family."

"That was before. Since then a lot's happened. Now this. He tried to kill you, Emma, you need protection. He could try again. It's been Thayer all along. Damn! We're wasting time. Or, he might try to flee town after this. Either way, he's not getting away with any of this! He's gotta be stopped!"

The motorcycle roared to life as Ethan waited for Emma to put on his helmet.

"Ethan, I'm s-sorry I ruined your life. Your brother's. I didn't mean to—"

"You have not ruined my life, Emma, you saved it. Now, hush. Time for that discussion later. A murderer's got to be brought to justice."

The bike tore off and its echo rumbled through the Arizona desert.

TBC…as soon as the summer season begins. Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

"Emma, I have an idea." Having adjusted its speed and direction, he came away from the fan that rested on the sideboard of the trailer. It was so hot today in the Arizonan desert, mere air conditioning wasn't enough. The fan targeted Emma so she wasn't sweltering. The dress she wore was every description of pretty he could think of, a pity to have it wilting, and its wearer along with it.

She stopped reading the magazine she had brought to the trailer, her full attention on Ethan. Pleasantly, she said, "I'm listening." Her gentle, lazy smile spurred him on. He was a study in seriousness, she thought, as he often was when he had something important to say.

"You do love me?" His eyes went a little misty. His tongue had gone terribly dry. The pulse in his neck was pronounced. "Don't you?"

Even though she better knew her mind and heart, she hesitated. She didn't have the heart to break his. She knew this question was coming, and had rehearsed what she needed to say. "Yes, Ethan. I do. I know Thayer wasn't for me. I went with him because I was confused. Confused and hurt...and not thinking. "

He was not going to denounce her, nor pretend he hadn't had a share in confusing her. He had almost gone back with Sutton. What a mistake that would have been. Patiently, Ethan replied, "We've been all over that. And it doesn't matter. The whole fiasco with Thayer just doesn't matter. What does matter is how we feel about each other this very moment."

Pouring every scintilla of emotion her heart had reserved for him, she passionately declared, "**I love _you_, Ethan**." She rejoiced that he was no sook. He was a man in every sense of the word. That's what she needed, a man; she was done with little boys who never knew what they wanted, except to confuse her. "With all my heart." He wasn't a fribbler when all was said and done.

"I love you too, Em." So much so that he knew what had to be done. If she stayed in Phoenix, in the midst of all this rancor and ambiguity, the unlikely vortex of anguish and probably humiliation, she would never be the same person he had first met and had fallen for on the spot. "Thing is...I've got this opportunity to pursue my culinary pursuits in California. Hollywood. I plan on following it up. I'd like to, but not without you, Em." He hoped with all his heart that she read him loud and clear. "Come with me. Help me make our dreams come true. You know. The ones we talked about. You want to pursue an artistic career. Do it out there...with me."

The magazine she'd been leafing through fell to the floor. Ethan quickly went to retrieve it for her. When their hands touched, an electricity, hard to deny, coursed through them.

"I want to, Ethan. I really want to. But..."

"I know. You don't really want to leave the Mercers. The family you truly belong to, want to be a part of." He tried not hanging his head so low, but couldn't help it. He couldn't lose the love of his life. Not now, frankly, not ever. "I understand." He recalled what Sutton had said about her wanting to get to know her long, lost twin. Did what he want with Emma mean the twins couldn't be close? He didn't think so. Distance did not necessarily spell emotional separation.

"I know you do," Emma said, sticking up for him and the insight he manifested as a rule. Wistfully, she confessed, "I'm torn. I want to go with you, Ethan. Truly I do, but..."

He gave her a warm, loving smile. "There's that pesky '_but_' again." Nodding, he came to sit next to her on the trailer's small pull-out couch. His hand slid into hers, holding it snugly. "I'm just asking, which is the only thing I can do. It's all up to you, Em. I want to share my life and my passion with you." His forehead wrinkled when he thought that maybe he should be asking something else, something far more abiding, over the long haul. "If I asked you to marry me, Em,...would you?"

_Ethan is asking me to marry him_...resounded in Emma's mind, which began to furiously swim. _Me...not Sutton_.

"I'm that committed to us being together always, Em," he said, sounding so meek and mild, so keepable, Emma considered, having him always by her side. "Y-you're serious," she soughed.

With his eyes locked with hers, standing pat, he assured, "I've never been more serious, or sure, of anything in my life. We're good for each other, Em. I need you so much. Always will." Sighing seductively, he plied, really pouring on sincerity, "So...will you?"

Her answer loomed up in her mind and before all the reasons why sharing vows with Ethan was crazy blotted that answer out, she breathlessly promised, "Yes, Ethan, yes I will!"

Bursting at the seams with joy and expectations of greater things to come, sounding winded, he replied, "So, you know, there's just one thing left to do."

"Just one?" Emma ribbed, thinking of scads of things that had to be done before they pledged their troth. She looked wondrous in white. Ethan in a tux, she thought, swooning.

"One I'm sure will knock several persons we know over with a feather."

Emma nodded, having arrived at the same conclusion. "We tell our folks. Yours and mine."

"Then we split." Quickly, he added, "We can finish high school in Cali."

Again, she nodded, confirming the trust she had in him and vice versa. "Vegas rents wedding dresses and tuxes, don't they?"

"Yep." He sounded proud when he admitted, "I've already told Dan that I wanted to marry you. He told me I was making the best decision in my life. You're a wonderful girl." Emma was blushing all over the place and Ethan continued, "He can't wait to be an uncle."

"He really said that." Ethan nodded and Emma blushed harder, giggling. "Good then. After we say the 'I dos,' we can mail them the photos." Sighing heavily as she wreathed her arms around Ethan's neck, Emma vowed, "You're my family. The one I've waited my whole life for." Rebecca, Sutton's and her birth mother, the woman with too many secrets, and lies to back them up, was never going to be an intimate part of her life.

"Not the Mercers?"

"Sutton has them. I have you."

Pulling Emma into his arms, Ethan swore, "Yes you do. Forever and ever." Sounding even more serious, Ethan went on, "I've got enough money saved so we don't have to live in some crummy place. Not for my wife!"

"I'd live in a trailer just like this one as long as I'm with you, Ethan..."

Their ardent kiss set the trailer ablaze.

End.


End file.
